Test scores a key issue at Board of Ed forum

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, October 27, 2007

But those few who did turn out had expectations the candidates responded to with candor.

"The idea of this and next Saturday's Listen & Learn session is for us to listen to parents and educators and learn from them what their needs are," said Republican candidate S. Lawrence Craybas. "We don't get the sense that there's enough give and take in communication between the school system and the residents," he said of himself and his fellow candidates at the forum.

"The communication in the Bethel school system is the best I've ever seen with e-mails and meetings -- but the school board is being kept out of the loop and that's insane," Duff said. "Board of Ed members should not have to be investigators. They should be made part of the loop."

Bethel parent Jeffrey Kenausis attended the session and came ready to communicate. A math professor at Western Connecticut State University, he had an educator's perspective on the eduction his son is receiving in Bethel.

Kenausis was concerned that the gifted student program in Bethel's elementary school had been "considerably cut" in the first three grades. He also spoke of the challenge to teachers to engage all students and the need to do that.

"The intellectually gifted program has been significantly scaled back," said Kenausis, whose son had been in the program. "It used to be a program that educators from other districts would come to learn from. Now there's very little of it in the lower grades."

Gervaise Tiernan, a Pro Bethel candidate who was cross-endorsed by the Republicans, agreed.

"The parents who I have talked to about the gifted program felt Sherry Earl was doing the right thing with the program. They loved her. I think her's was a great plan for our schools," Tiernan said of the educator who has left Bethel schools.

But Duff's view was more pragmatic.

"We're not in the business of catering to either end of the special needs spectrum of students," he said. "We're diverting resources to the lower end students in that spectrum and we should. But we have to address the fact that the average student has to be supported 100 percent because they're the backbone of this country."

To that end, the candidates at the forum stressed that their combined goal is to improve test scores in Bethel schools.

"The key is to have involvement of the parents," Craybas said. "There's accountability and responsibility for the students, the parents, the administration and the town. We need to understand why teachers are leaving in such high numbers on the elementary level. When we lose good teachers, we often lose math instructors" who can reach the children.

Exit interviews for teachers were suggested. But Kristine Harrison, a Republican candidate on the forum, wants to know what is going wrong before a teacher leaves. She would like to see mid-year interviews with teachers.

Stuart Carlson, a present Bethel Board of Education member, attended the forum Saturday. He said something has to be done about test scores and hoped his fellow Republicans could help turn those scores around, if elected to the board.

"CAPT scores have declined. The CMT level is off," Carlson said. "That has to be addressed. Test scores and teacher turnover are the issues I hope a new Republican-controlled education board can address" after the election.

Benjamin Foulk, an Independent candidate cross-endorsed by the Republicans, did not attend the forum Saturday as planned.